“Impressed by the brand’s 700-year history, I immersed myself in the many skills that the master glassmakers at Barovier&Toso have known how to preserve for centuries. For this first collaboration, my attention naturally turned to the “rostrato” technique [featuring individually pulled spikes of Venetian crystal]. Invented by Barovier&Toso in the 1930s, this technique fascinated me not just for its unique, timeless, and recognizable style, but also for how it divides light in a particularly incomparable way.” —Philippe Nigro, designer
With a 700-year history, Murano-based Italian lighting master Barovier&Toso is one of the oldest brands in the world. Working with the likes of the Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari, the royal family of Saudi Arabia, and fashion powerhouses including Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier, the historic company is also one of the top luxury lighting producers in the market. Now, for the first time, select Barovier&Toso works are available for purchase in the United States, exclusively distributed through JB Lighting Collection (including a recent introduction, the Adonis chandelier, by Marcel Wanders).
Released in April, the newest addition to the company’s portfolio is the Opéra collection by French designer Philippe Nigro. Each design (available as a wall sconce, hanging fixtures, or table lamps) takes inspiration from the Palais Garnier, the historic opera house in Paris. Nigro’s aim, he says, was to “create a collection of lighting with the simplest forms so that the technique would appear not as ‘only’ a beautiful decorative feature, but more as the main structure of the lighting.”
